A loving heart never fails
by RoseScor90
Summary: Teddy Lupin is gone and Victoire is heart broken. will a pensieve help her find her way back to him?


Disclaimer: Not JK…

A/n: Written for the 'Boggart Challenge'. The character was, Teddy Lupin.

Before you read the story, I'd like to thank you for taking time to read this. This is the first time I'm trying this sort of story and I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me what you thought about it. Where I could improve and where I could elaborate or shorten, or anything else, really. Thanks so much for listening to my rant! On to the story!

Victoire Weasley Lupin walked towards her home without a backward glance. The guests were still milling around her children, expressing their condolences on the loss of a wonderful person. But Victoire, ever the social butterfly, had no wish to join them. Their talk, laughter or sorrow did not affect her. It was a curious feeling, as if you were suspended inside a can. A can filled with hot, burning acid. Victoire shook her head once to clear away the prickling in her heart as well as the tears that had gathered in her eyes, ready to fall down her cheeks at a moment's notice. But she wouldn't. She had promised him that. Victoire couldn't help the pitiful chuckle that came from her. It had been his last wish that she must not cry over his death. Apparently, he had made a vow on their wedding day to never make her cry and he wanted to keep it, even on the other side of death. She knew that behind his humor lay a deep sense of affection for her. So she blinked back the moisture and walked up the steps to the rundown building that had been their sanctuary for the past five decades.

She fully intended to lie down and rest for a while but, as she entered the room, she saw that there was a new addition to the room. Curious, she went to the podium and gasped at what lay on it. She had known that Teddy kept a pensieve to record important meetings but he had never shown it to her. He had been very secretive about it and she had stayed respectfully out of the way. And so, she was surprised that he had left it this unprotected.

She approached it carefully, unaware of what it might contain. She was afterall, a retired Auror and old habits died hard. After performing several spells to affirm herself, she looked into the pensieve to a swirling blue mass of silvery smoke. At that moment, the wind blew from the open window and a fluttering sound caught her ear. Looking closely, she found that there was a bit of parchment stuck to the bottom of the pensieve. Lifting the pensieve, which was lighter than she had anticipated, she removed the paper and found his neat scrawl on it. He had addressed it to a 'Dear Mrs Lupin' and Victoire chuckled. He loved calling her that.

_I'm sure you know by now that I've moved on. I won't say I'm unhappy about it. I had the best life anyone could imagine. The best godfather, the best adopted family that later became my own family, the best friends, the best children and most importantly, my soulmate; you. I couldn't have asked for anything else, if I'd been given the chance._

_I suppose you're wondering by now about the purpose of the letter (if you hadn't already peeked at the rest of it, which, admit it, is totally possible) is. Before I reveal anything else, let me tell you this. I never planned to do anything like this. You know me and I'm not the kind of person to make romantic gestures. I'm sure you remember the plenty of times you teased me about it. Well, I wanted to do _something_ and since I'm awkward enough for the entirety of England, I decided to show you. Yeah, totally teenage-ish and silly, I know, but it was this or telling you in person and guess which I chose?_

_I have to apologize because all the memories I saved up for you have a boggart as the co-star. It would seem totally pathetic but that thing taught me my feelings better than anything else. Don't worry, the boggart won't affect you. Just stay put and watch the memories. If you don't want to, I won't be upset because I won't be _there_ to be upset, so you know you have a choice. But I wanted you to know how much you meant to me and I wasn't creative enough to find a better way. I've modified the memories so that my voice will travel with you. Bon voyage._

_Love,_

_Ed._

Victoire hesitated for a second before she plunged into the pensieve.

The first memory was situated in a study room that Victoire recognized as her Uncle Harry's. The door opened and a small boy of about seven years with florescent yellow hair and bright orange eyes entered it, looking around. It was apparent that he was looking for someone or something as he glanced around. He was immediately drawn to the closet that rattled ominously. Carroty eyes wide with keenness, he opened the draw and took a step back as a girl stepped out of it. She had golden blond hair and azure blue eyes and Victoire realized with a shock that she was looking at her younger self. But she did not remember ever hiding in her Uncle's office…oh!

She slapped herself on the head as she realized what was going on. As she was pondering, her boggart-self approached Teddy, her face scrunched in disapproval and disgust. She watched in amazement as she went on to declare that she was sickened by Teddy and that she never wanted to be friends with him ever again. Tears began to clog the seven year old's eyes and his hair turned a muddy yellow. Victoire fought her desire to rush to comfort the kid. Suddenly, the boggart began shifting and she saw Teddy shiver slightly before a clear voice was heard.

"Ridikulus" and the murky shape burst into a variety of colored balloons. Teddy stood looking at the spectacle silently before turning to his godfather.

"Harry" he squeaked before he ran to hug the older man's hips. Her Uncle lifted Teddy into his arms and Teddy anxiously declared, "Vicky hates me" and tears once again blocked his vision. Victoire thought she felt tears in her eyes but then saw that it was the vision that was fading.

"That was the first one, Vic. Right from when I was eight, it was you that I saw as a boggart. But you were just a friend then. My best friend and I was most afraid of losing you. Harry explained to me later about boggarts but that incident left its mark in me, and that's the reason why I was so…possessive of you at Hogwarts. I did not want the boggart to become reality" his soft voice sounded by her ears like a soothing lullaby. She closed her eyes and relaxed as she shifted to another memory.

His voice continued, "This one was in my third year. Do you remember that one day our friends were ridiculing me about being a chicken? You kept asking me what it was about. We had learnt about boggarts that day. I had not wanted to try out because I already knew what, or who I'd see. I was terrified that people would think I was some kind of pervert. But then, my curiosity never let me sleep that night and I went out after curfew"

The darkness cleared and Victoire found herself standing behind a thirteen year old Teddy with turquoise blue hair. She couldn't see his expression and moved to the side to see him better. His eyes had toned down to a hazel color and his child-like face was apprehensive. He stood in front of a large box that rattled in a way that was now familiar to Victoire. The lid lifted and this time Victoire was prepared for the sight that met her. It seemed Teddy's boggart was growing in age as he did, for, she saw her teenage self step out in all her veela glory. Teddy stood mesmerized for a moment before he gathered himself. Victoire listened keenly as she told him in a soprano voice that she only ever wanted to be his friend and nothing more. She laughed heartily at the dumbstruck expression on Teddy's face before he collected himself and muttered the counter spell. Her hair turned a fierce red color and she now resembled her sister Dominique perfectly. She heard his chuckle and knew he must have been laughing when he chose this memory. For as long as she had known, her greatest fear had been that her hair would turn auburn like her sister's. It had been insane but true. Not that she had a thing against red hair but she had been sure it would not suit her at all and Teddy had mocked her about it many times.

"The next one is the last one I want you to see. It was during my Auror training. You know pretty well what kind of obstacles they put up but, just my luck; I had to face a boggart. And guess who it turned into?"

With that the voice faded out but the darkness did not lift like earlier. If possible, it felt as if she was being suffocated by the darkness surrounding her. Just as quickly, a beam of light was seen before her and she understood that Teddy had lighted up his wand and was walking ahead. She followed him and as they came to a spot in the maze where the path split into two. There was an air of despair around and Teddy shivered. A dementor came out of a nearby alcove and she could see Teddy's back straighten in preparation.

"Expecto Patronum" his Patronus was a creature that was a mix between a normal wolf and a werewolf. It looked haunting with the pearly glow, amplified by the pitch dark around them.

She saw the Patronus chase away the dementor and followed him further. After they had passed a bunch of Nifflers, Sphinxes and Hyppogryffs, they came to the last stage. Victoire was now so engaged in the memory that when the boggart appeared, she was honestly confused for a moment.

Only when her boggart-self began confessing to Teddy that she never loved him and that he was the worst boyfriend a girl could ever have did she realize that Teddy wasn't very sure this time. He took a few steps back as if there was a swarm of angry bees before him. A few seconds passed and Victoire waited with bated breath. Though she knew that he had aced the test, she waited nervously. She heard a voice calling his name and Teddy seemed to break out of his reverie.

"Ridikulus" he muttered and the boggart shifted into a life size Barbie doll and began going in circles mechanically. Victoire giggled at the picture before her.

Only when the picture faded did she realize that this was the last of the memories. She extended a hand in protest. She did not want to leave Teddy. She wanted to tell him that his fears were stupid. That she had always loved him. That he had been the best boyfriend any girl ever had. But the mist soon clouded over her, leaving her mind clear with the pain of losing him all over again.

"I'm sorry if I upset you with the last one, Vic. I wanted to show you that because that was the last one but of course, you wouldn't want to relive that memory since you told me it had genuinely frightened you"

The voice was silent for a minute and Victoire held her breath. The voice continued, but his embarrassment was clearly heard.

"What I wanted to tell you was that…right from my childhood, losing you was my worst fear. Losing your friendship first, and then later, your love. Not because I did not trust you, but because I was always unsure of myself and I never could get around the fact that someone as brilliant as you would even look at me. I know you call me modest but I know myself and I know you better. I always thought you were insane to settle for me but I could only hope that you never recovered from it.

So, um…what I wanted to say was that…I love you Victoire. Always have, always will. You were the one for me. I realize that fifty years is a long time to take to declare my love but I never was brave enough. I'm sorry if I've hurt you. It wasn't because I loved you any less. I was the coward and even now, it took me facing death to gather the courage"

The silence was overwhelming and Victoire's heart drummed in her ears. She felt slightly dizzy but held on. She knew she'd pass out soon but she hoped to keep up for a bit more.

"I'll be waiting for you on the other side of the veil whenever you decide to join me. I love you Victoire. Take care"

The sound of his voice faded gently like the last notes of an orchestra and Victoire was propelled out of the pensieve. She went to lie on the bed, her heart thrumming loudly in her ears, tears streaming freely down her face. She did not try to stem them. She wouldn't be able to anyway.

Lying down on the bed, she closed her eyes. His face arose behind her eyelids, wide grin and twinkling amber eyes intact. The grin that had turned crooked, yet charming, with age. The eyes that had matured with wisdom. Her heart beat once with vigor before she fell asleep.

The world claimed that Victoire Lupin died of heart failure, but that couldn't have been true. Because her heart had never failed to take her to the right place. To him.

A/n: Please review!


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